


Leokumi Week Day One (Story Two) - Dance

by Queen_of_the_Nerds



Series: Leokumi Week 2019 [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Dancing, First Meetings, Leokumi Week 2019, M/M, Masquerade, obviously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:46:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21699895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_of_the_Nerds/pseuds/Queen_of_the_Nerds
Summary: Leo and Takumi meet for the first time at a masquerade ball
Relationships: Leon | Leo/Takumi
Series: Leokumi Week 2019 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1540042
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	Leokumi Week Day One (Story Two) - Dance

“Care for a dance?”

Leo looked up from the drink he had been nursing, squinting as he tried to see the person in front of him - and cursing Camilla yet again for forcing him to wear such a ridiculously ornate mask.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I said,” the man repeated, “would you like to dance?”

Leo took a moment to study the person in front of him. They were clearly Hoshidan, judging by their accent and robes, but thanks the the delicate blue and silver mask that hid most of their face, Leo couldn’t tell who the hell they were.

Well, it’s not as if he’d know them anyway. He didn’t know any Hoshidans, even though there were many attending the masquerade that night. He hadn’t even had a chance to meet the Hoshidan royal family yet - this ball was supposed to be their first visit to Nohr after the assassination of his father and the signing of Xander’s peace treaty, but in the spirit of “getting along” Xander had ordered that no member of each royal family was to meet without masks on until the end of the ball.

Leo cursed Xander, too.

Leo sighed. He guessed one dance wouldn’t hurt - and besides, if he didn’t dance at least once Xander would probably lecture him about the importance of diplomacy during balls. Again. 

“Alright,” Leo replied. “One dance.”

One dance, he thought, and then I’m going to go hide in the library.

The stranger led him by the hand to the middle of the dance floor, Leo’s posture becoming noticeably more rigid the more he was enclosed by people, personal space all but forgotten by those around him. He sniffed in disdain, but immediately regretted it - some of the dancers were starting to sweat.

They danced for a while, making small talk. The man was strangely engaging and pleasant to talk to - Leo could tell that behind that mask lay a keen wit and a sharp tongue.

His eyes were beautiful.

Although Leo felt himself quickly warming up to the stranger, he couldn’t shake off the claustrophobic feeling being in the centre of a crowd always gave him. Everyone was close, much too close, and they breathed in too much of the air in the room, so that no matter how deeply he breathed Leo just couldn’t draw in enough air.

“You seem stiff,” his partner remarked after a few more minutes. “Not a fan of dancing?”

“Not a fan of crowds,” Leo shot him a rueful smile. “Although I suppose my immediate company isn’t too bad.”

The stranger laughed as he walked with Leo off the dance floor. “Oh I completely understand. I can’t stand being in crowds - it makes me feel suffocated.”

“Then why on earth did you ask me to dance?” Leo raised his eyebrows at the man as he pushed open a door that led to one of the multiple secluded balconies around the outside of the ballroom. He didn’t care how this would look to other people - he just wanted to get out of the room so he could breathe again.

The stranger shrugged. “You looked pretty, and I wanted to dance with you.”

“I looked pretty?” Leo questioned. “You can’t even see my face.”

“True,” the stranger replied, looking up at Leo from where he leant against the railing, “but I think I’m right anyway.” A pause. “You have beautiful eyes.”

Leo’s face felt hot, and for the first time that night he was grateful for his mask. He cleared his throat, averting his eyes as he replied, “So do you. I thought about it the entire time we were dancing.”

The stranger just gazed at Leo, palm cupped in his hand, expression hidden behind that infuriating mask.

The silver details on the mask shone in the candlelight, and didn’t give a damn what Leo thought about it.

“You know,” the man continued, mouth slowly twisting into a smirk (a goddamned smirk! Leo thought), “your voice is beautiful too. Surely you must have a pretty face to match”

Leo looked at him, surprised, his mouth twitching up at the corners. “You sound like you want me to take off my mask.”

“And if I do?”

“Then we’ll have to do it quickly, my brother will give me hell if he finds out I took it off.”

A laugh burst out of the stranger and he nodded in agreement. “Mine will too. Okay let’s do it quickly - on the count of three.”

“One

Two

Three.”

Leo undid the ties on his mask, trying to ignore the slight trembling of his fingers. He was a Nohrian prince, the stranger was bound to recognise him... but would they be happy when they realised who he was? Leo certainly hoped they wouldn’t mind - he desperately wanted to take the time to get to know them more.

And then his mask was off, and he had no more time to think about it.

The man in front of him looked oddly familiar - Leo knew he had never met them, but he could have sworn he’d seen them somewhere before. Was he... could he be..?

“You’re-

Prince Takumi!”

“Prince Leo!”

They both shouted at the same time, mouths agape, near identical expressions of shock on their faces.

Leo was the first to recover, moving his hand to cover his mouth as he chuckled. “Well, this is quite the surprise.”

“I’ll say,” Takumi replied, “I’ve been proven wrong - you face is much more beautiful than your voice.” 

He even had the audacity to wink afterwards, the bastard.

Leo spluttered, going red again. “Please don’t say things like that when I can’t hide behind my mask.”

“Absolutely not, this way is far more satisfying.”

Leo sighed. “Gods, usually people are more respectful when they find out I’m a prince, not less. Whatever am I going to do with you now?”

“Being respectful is boring, you and I both know that.” Takumi held out his hands, a soft smile spreading over his face. “But would you still consider dancing with me again?”

“Out here?”

“Yeah, just the two of us.”

Leo placed his hands in Takumi’s, giving him a soft smile of his own. 

“Okay.”


End file.
